within the wall exhibition…

If you live in or around Bristol, then I strongly recommend that you check out this exhibition at the historic St John on the Wall church (in the crypt) in Broad Street. It runs from 27 July until 11 August 11am-2pm daily (why not come along to the preview at 6pm this Friday 29 July?).
It’s an exhibition with a difference…
Over the past 12 months, a group of people have met in the church and/or the crypt at 11.30am-1.30pm every Tuesday… to draw or write poetry or take photographs. It’s a very lovely, welcoming and diverse collection of individuals with a wide range of artistic abilities, experience and backgrounds… led by the brilliant Charlotte Pain, a wonderful artist in her own right (she would laugh at the description of her “leading” the group!).
The exhibition consists of sketches that group members have undertaken over the past year. Some people have some drawing or photographic experience behind them (but, perhaps, have let the habit lapse?). Others have hardly previously drawn at all. For some, it’s an opportunity to experiment. For some, the group’s principal benefit is the group’s sociability.
I joined this lovely group a couple of months ago – anyone/everyone is welcome to join – and have been incredibly impressed by the warmth of the welcome and its non-judgemental approach to art and creativity.
This is what Charlotte wrote about the project and the group:
“This project is about helping the public connect to buildings and locations. It is about breathing a new breath of life into churches, bringing community back within them and exploring their uses. It’s about getting people drawing and making. It’s about a belief that creativity can help us to strengthen our voices, nurture our mental health and help us connect to each other.
From a core group of people who rarely miss a session to random visitors to the city who have long left Bristol behind them, each drawing is a moment in the life of St John’s and of the people who have walked through the doors. With the support and open-mindedness of The Churches Conservation Trust the project has flourished.
We are a diverse group of people who have developed a passion for St John’s and have spent many hours drawing, photographing and admiring this special building. This is not only a celebration, but an invitation to the rest of Bristol to join us”.
As you might realise, Charlotte is a bit special!
I don’t want to embarrass people by highlighting their individual talents or what they bring to the group but, hopefully, this will provide a flavour: Mike has produced over 60 sketches over the past 12 months and his friendliness encapsulates all that group stands for; Brian is another of those gentle, generous, welcoming people and his photographs of the church are an inspiration; David is a brilliant artist (especially his watercolours!) who can draw beautifully and chat amusingly at the same time(!); Betty has been something of a revelation for me – every week, she produces her simple, intricate, pencil sketches (which remind me in some ways of Alfred Wallis’s naïve artwork from St Ives)(I suspect this is the first time she’s drawn since leaving school?); Jonathan loves coming to the group – he’s industrious, friendly and enthusiastic; Chris is always smiling, chatty and an inveterate photographer and drawer; Aran is one of the lovely church volunteers who has been “drawn” into the group… and then there’s also Christine, Anne-Marie and Dave etc etc.     
Membership of the group is completely free so, if you fancy having an excuse to do some drawing, then why not give it a try?
Please take an opportunity to pop into the exhibition (and also to see the fascinating, 14^th century church itself).
Photo: some of the group working on the exhibition installation.

two days in luton…

Moira and I have just returned home after spending a couple of very enjoyable days staying with our lovely Christine and Nick in Luton. We’ve been friends for nearly forty years (blimey!)(ironically, that’s about the time of Lorraine Chase’s Luton Airport/Campari advert… and, if you don’t know what I’m on about, then you’re too young!) – since our days when we lived just down the road from each other in Percy Street, Oxford.
They’ve fairly recently moved to Luton (where Nick is vicar in a parish which includes Luton Airport, a Vauxhall  Motors’ plant, thousands of houses - built mainly in the 1960s, two villages and large expanses of rather lovely open countryside – where there are plans to build hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new homes!).
Well, we had a lovely time catching up on our respective family news, future plans and reminiscing about our time living in East Oxford. We also enjoyed some beautiful countryside (within walking distance of the vicarage) and a village pub lunch… and we even found time for some culture (and more countryside and more food!) when we went to see Bernard Shaw’s play “You Never Can Tell” (first performed in 1899) in the grounds of “Shaw’s Corner” (his home for some 44 years and now a National Trust property). We took chairs, blankets and a picnic (and managed to arrive in time to grab a place in the front row!) and enjoyed a very pleasant, warm, theatrical evening* – with only occasional dialogue drowned out by passing aircraft! 
A lovely couple of days with very lovely friends.
Photos: picnicking in the front row; Shaw’s Corner; and random photo from our woodland walk.
Note*: we were all agreed that Shaw’s play was hardly inspiring stuff (but very enjoyable nonetheless)… it felt a little like the Emperor’s new clothes: although Shaw was an acclaimed playwright (amongst other things), we all found the plot somewhat tedious and the acting/characterisation somewhat exaggerated and overdone. My brother Alan sent me this link to a Monty Python sketch featuring Shaw, Whistler and Oscar Wilde (some 3mins in)… and, yes, it DID feel a little like it!!

labour pains…

I’m very aware that, ever since the Brexit result, I’ve been moaning (some would say “ranting”!) about most things to do with political in this country.
So, I just wanted to say sorry!
But (and you just KNEW there would be a “but” didn’t you!), before I offer my resignation, I thought I’d give you my thoughts on the Labour Party (note: I’m actually a member of the Green Party).
For what it’s worth, I thought that, under Miliband’s leadership, the Labour Party’s performance in Opposition (especially given what a pig’s ear the Tories were making of things) was simply awful. Indeed, after the 2015 General Election, I felt that the Labour Party would be out of government until AT LEAST 2025.
The Conservative Party (following the farce of the EU Referendum) has already got itself a new Prime Minister but, meanwhile, as far as the rest of the country is concerned (and at a time when it SHOULD be underlining the mess that the government’s got us all into), the Labour Party has been doing its best to demonstrate its incompetence by scoring SO many own goals that it might well end up destroying itself (not even the most the passionate Tory strategist could have dreamed of such a brilliant campaign strategy)…

I like Jeremy Corbyn as a bloke… but I don’t happen to believe that he will be able to win support from the rest of the country to gain victory at the next General Election (to date, in my opinion, his “performance” in parliament as Leader of the Opposition has been poor).

Clearly, there are lots of people who disagree with me.
However, I’m not sure I agree with the current leadership challenges… and strongly suspect that, if there is an election, Corbyn will win again… the Labour Party will remain in tatters and the government will be rubbing their hands once again. 
What would happen to the Labour Party if Corbyn was re-elected party leader? Would a new breakaway party emerge in protest? What would they call it? “Real Labour” (you couldn’t make up these things!)?
Interestingly(?), I listened a constitutional expert on Radio 4’s “Today In Parliament” on Friday evening (you might still be able to catch it on iPlayer: 15/7/16 at 11.30pm) who indicated that a) the Official Opposition is the largest party in the House of Commons that is not in government so, if the Labour Party were to split into two “pieces”, there would then be a Labour Party and a breakaway group of MPs and b) if the breakaway group had most MPs (and more than the SNP’s 56), then it would count as the largest party and become the Official Opposition (the Speaker might ultimately be asked to make a ruling, if it is disputed).
I simply hope (please!) that all the opposition parties get their acts together - so that they provide a PROPER opposition to this government.
Right, that’s it… I’ll try to be quiet from now on (honest... probably).

june-july 2016 books…

More book stuff:
Mystery In White (J Jefferson Farjeon): I admit that reading a crime novel set at Christmas (and amid heavy snowfall and blizzards) did seem slightly surreal in June! First published in 1937, this book (out of print since the 1930s) was subsequently republished by the British Library in 2014. In his day, Farjeon was a highly acclaimed author and, after reading this novel, I can see why. It’s a clever, almost creepy, mystery… in which a group of travellers (whose train becomes trapped by heavy snowdrifts) take shelter in a country house – where fires have been lit and the table laid for tea, but no one is at home. As I say, creepy! A good read.
The Walker’s Guide To Outdoor Clues And Signs (Tristan Gooley): Don’t get me wrong, this is a fascinating book – absolutely full of information and insights for walkers/outdoor-lovers. However, I REALLY didn’t take to Gooley at all! He’s obviously extremely knowledgeable about his subject, but I would hate to accompany him on a walk or attend one of his courses. I could imagine Gooley being critical of the group for not spotting some tiny, very particular, obscure (and, frankly, boring!) detail that had only recently occurred to him… and everyone on the course just looking at each other and thinking: “he’s off his head”! It’s a brilliant reference book though and one that I’ll very much enjoy using over the coming years - but I’d definitely prefer to avoid meeting him in person (he seems like a bit of anorak... to put it mildly!)!
All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes (Maya Angelou): Angelou has written her autobiography in seven volumes. This is book five - somewhat ridiculously, the others I’ve read are books one and six! As I’ve said before, I’ve been a big fan of hers over the years (and can almost hear her voice as I read her books). This one deals with her time in Ghana (she emigrated there in 1962, before returning to the USA three years later).
It’s essentially about Angelou exploring her African and African-American identities and her history and character. She focuses on becoming assimilated in African culture, but ends up finding this unattainable. It’s another fascinating book – her story is beautifully told and full of all the rich insights, colour and humour I associate with Angelou.
Sheila (Robert Wainwright): I enjoy biographies and picked up this book from the £3 Bookshop. I’m also fascinated by what was happening in this country in the 1920s – in terms of art, society, fashion, politics and the like - so, this book appealed on a number of fronts. It’s about Sheila Chisholm, born in Australia in 1895, given the best education given to girls at the time and then, in 1914, brought to London by her mother in order to complete her education by attending “the Season”. Wainwright describes Sheila Chisholm as “vivacious, confident and striking” and she clearly “blazed a trail through London society”, amassing friendships which ran the gamut from Buckingham Palace and Downing Street to Hollywood and the Kennedys. She married a Scottish lord, an English baronet and a Russian prince… and attracted a string of distinguished suitors (you get the general idea!). Frankly, I’d never previously heard of the woman and, on the face of it, reading about high society, privileged birthright, the cavorting idle rich and the ruling classes is hardly my idea of fun(!)… and yet the book DID make compelling and fascinating reading.
The Santa Klaus Murder (Mavis Doriel Hay): Yes, ridiculously, this is the second Christmas crime novel I’ve read this summer (I blame Moira!). Like the earlier book, this was also published in the 1930s (1935) – the golden age of British crime fiction according to the book’s blurb(?). It’s a very clever murder mystery set in a country house and involving an aristocratic setting, a dead earl and lots of red herrings. I liked the novel’s format of chapters written by a handful of the book’s characters (the Chief Constable being the major contributor) as the investigation unfolded. Well-conceived and well-executed (both the book and the murder!).

brown willy…

I went along to the Watershed (with Hannah and Felix) this afternoon to see a special screening of a rather special film, called Brown Willy (named after the hill in Cornwall – the highest point on Bodmin Moor)… which included a Q+A session with the film’s director, Brett Harvey, its producer/one of its two actors (Pete), Simon Harvey, and its cinematographer, Adam Laity… plus a live performance by Three Cane Whale (as you might already know, I’ve become one of their groupies!), who provided the musical backdrop to the film.
It was shot (quite brilliantly to my mind) in black+white on Bodmin Moor in just 10 days and on an absolutely minimum budget. The film’s only two characters (Michael and Pete) are getting together for a weekend on the Moor. Michael (played by Ben Dyson) is about to get married and the weekend takes the form of an alternative stag do. Michael and Pete (both 40 year-olds) have known each other since childhood, but have grown apart over recent years and don’t talk as often as they used to. Michael is a rather prim, uptight character while Pete doesn’t really seem to have grown up.
They end up getting drunk, then high… then lost on the Moor (as you do).
Moira had decided, having seen the Watershed’s blurb, that the film wasn’t for her (she thought it sounded a bit like an English version of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” – and, in a way, she was right). Despite the film’s somewhat ludicrous premise (given Michael’s prim, organised nature – SURELY, he’d have taken a map and a compass on his trip?)(and, whilst you could get lost on Dartmoor, I suspect it’s rather harder to do so on Bodmin Moor!), it’s an entertaining, funny and, at times, quite poignant film. The cinematography is simply stunning (it certainly reminded me of my time on Dartmoor helping to train young people for Ten Tors) and the music is quite, quite brilliant (I might be slightly prejudiced here?). Interestingly, director Bret Harvey was already familiar with Three Cane Whale’s music and, having obtained their permission to use some of it for the film, played it as the crew’s constant “musical travelling companion” throughout its filming – which resulted in the film being edited to suit the music rather than the other way around… and it works perfectly.
If you get the chance to see this film (it’s not on general release), then you should definitely take it. It’s a charming film.
Photo: Three Cane Whale performing after the Q+A session.

 

notes on blindness

Moira+I went along to the Watershed (where else?) this afternoon to see Pete Middleton’s/James Spinney’s remarkable film “Notes on Blindness”. In 1983 (aged 45), after years of failing sight, theologian John Hull became completely blind. Understandably, he struggled to come to terms with the finality of his condition – he described himself as being stuck, “a sighted person who couldn’t see”. He went through an initial grieving process, before deciding that he had to record his thoughts about blindness on tape (which he did for the rest of the decade) "because if I didn't understand it, it would defeat me".
These numerous tapes (along with interviews with John and his wife Marilyn) form the basis of the film… with actors (excellent Dan Skinner and Simone Kirby) lip-synching the dialogue.
It’s a moving and profound film (certainly not sugary or over-romanticised)… about coping and adapting, about becoming more aware, about the need for identifiable structure and routine, about the importance of support (from family, friends and colleagues), and about the importance of the familiarity of surroundings.
But, as you might imagine, it’s also a film about huge regrets… about not being able to see his five children (some of whom he’d never seen) and his wife, about not being able to access information, and about losing his visual memory (“longing for optic stimulation”). For me, I would have like to have heard more about how Marilyn adjusted to John’s total blindness…
During the course of the film, I found myself reflecting on the magical importance of ALL our senses - sight, sound, taste, touch and smell being the five traditional recognised senses… and how much we simply take them for granted… a magical sunrise or sunset; the laughter of children; Italian ice cream; an embrace from loved-one; new-mown grass… (the list could go on for several pages!).

Thanks to the tapes and his philosophical approach, you sense that Hull (who died in July 2015) was able to come to terms with his blindness… but one can only imagine how difficult the journey was and, if the circumstances were reversed, how we might cope in Hull’s situation.

Definitely a film I think you should see.
Losing sight, but gaining vision perhaps?